Chapter 15
Cora waited for Damion in her guest bed chamber. After his proposal, the night became a whirlwind of congratulations. It was lovely, but in truth all she wanted was to spend time with him.
The door clicked open quietly, and she turned. He stood there in just his shirt, pants, and shoes. The man took her breath away. His broad shoulders and muscular thighs made her think wanton thoughts constantly. His brown hair looked as if he’d been running his fingers through it.
“You are here,” she said.
“I am.”
She poured them both a glass of wine, wanting them to talk.
Though Cora was mightily tempted to throw her arms around Damion and get lost in her need for him.
Yet, he must have sensed a discussion was necessary as well because he accepted the drink from her and sat in one of the two wingback chairs in the room.
She took the other one. “Why did you leave the country estate party?”
“I met with your brother to ask to court you, and he informed me Bellamy was about to propose. I saw the two of you on the terrace, and you seemed happy. I didn’t want to stand in the way of what you wanted, but I couldn’t bear to watch you become betrothed.”
“I told him I needed to think about it because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
He took her hand in his and squeezed it. “I didn’t realize that at the time. I knew I’d fallen for you by the time I left.”
“But you departed with Lady Bennett.”
Damion frowned at her. “No, I didn’t. I left on my horse. I didn’t even pack my things.”
She stood and leaned forward, placing a kiss on his mouth. “I thought you’d gone off to be a rogue.”
He tugged her onto his lap. “The only lady I wanted to do anything with was you. You consumed all my thoughts and, truth be told, I think you always will.”
Her heart warmed at his declaration. Damion added, “The moment I met you in the library the first night, I knew it was special.”
Cora laughed. “No, you didn’t.”
He brushed another kiss across her lips. “I did, and it terrified me.”
“You were not a very good instructor.”
Damion snorted. “I was the best.”
He pressed his mouth to hers and slid his tongue along the seam of her lips. “Open for me, my love.”
She did as he asked. The ache already throbbing in her lower half.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as her bottom rocked along his hard shaft.
The memory of his member pressed against her most feminine area in the library pulsated through her.
The kiss broke, and she looked up at him. “Damion, will you make me yours?”
“There is nothing I want more, but I’ve already done everything wrong.”
She took his face in her hands. “No, we’ve done things the way it works for us. Please.”
He flexed his shaft against her bottom and her body hummed. “It is too hard to deny you.”
Standing, he stood her upright and asked, “Are you sure?”
She played with the buttons on his shirt. “I’ve thought so much about the last night in the library and how your shaft felt against my most feminine area.”
Cora slid her hand down and pressed her palm along his length. He hissed in satisfaction. She continued, feeling free to say what she wanted around him. “I touched myself thinking about what it would feel like to have you buried deep in me.”
“Christ, Cora. You will be my undoing,” he said, yanking his shirt from his trousers.
She grinned at him and helped him slide the material off his shoulders. “Good.”
He shook his head but yanked his boots and trousers off. Cora stared at him, wide-eyed. Damion was magnificent. She wrapped her hands around his shaft, and he closed his eyes, moaning. “Yes, that is perfection.”
“You like to be touched. I like that too.”
He opened his eyes. “I know. I have thought about nothing else since I touched you.”
Damion untied her wrap and then began to slide her nightgown up. She wondered if she should feel shy, but the desire for Damion to see her naked throbbed through her. Still, when the material reached her thighs, he asked, “Is this fine?”
She nodded. The nightgown rose over her stomach, breasts, shoulders, and then over her head. Damion stared at her and stroked himself. “You are beautiful.”
Cora smiled shyly at him and pulled them both toward the bed. Gruffly, he asked, “What do you want?”
“I want you to touch me as you did before.”
She sat on the bed, and he said, “Lie back, my love, and open your legs for me. Let me see you.”
Cora did as he requested, and his eyes darkened with more desire.
He stepped between her thighs, and she held herself up on her forearms, staring up at him.
The throbbing in her lower half made her want to rock her hips.
She waited to see what he would do next.
His hand slid down her breasts and then drifted past her stomach.
His fingers hovered just over the thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs. “You are mine, Cora. Forever.”
She nodded, and he rubbed his finger over her sensitive nub, making her whimper. “Say it, Cora. Tell me you're mine.”
He pinched the nub, and she arched upward. “I’m yours.”
Damion slid his fingers into her, sliding them in and out. The throbbing in her body intensified. It wasn’t enough and all too much at the same time. She grasped his hand. “I want you in me.”
He smiled at her rakishly. “You want me to bury my cock in you.”
The words caused her to shiver in the most delightful way. “Yes, I want to come undone with you deep inside me.”
“You can have it both ways.”
Still, a longing coursed through her to have him in her. “Please.”
“How can I deny such a pretty request?”
Damion scooted her up and hovered between her thighs for a moment, pressing a light kiss on her lips. “This may hurt momentarily.”
Cora didn’t care. Her desire to continue far outweighed any concerns. He lowered himself so his shaft was at her opening. Her body still ached for release. Damion claimed her mouth again. This time he deepened the kiss. His tongue swirled against hers, tempting and teasing.
He slid into her, and a flinch of pain pierced through the pleasure she was feeling. She clung to him, waiting for it to pass. He ran his lips along her throat, now buried fully in her. The feel of him so deep inside of her made her feel wanted and worshipped.
Damion pulled out and plunged back in. She gasped, not with pain but pleasure. Cora met him thrust for thrust. This was what she’d wanted, even if she didn’t know it. He wrapped her hair in his hands and kissed her. “Your quim is making my cock weep already, my love.”
He groaned and increased the pace. The ache was becoming almost unbearable. “Damion, please.”
His hips slapped against hers, and then he swiveled so it created friction at her sensitive nub. She grasped his back, clawing at him, overcome with need. Damion did it again.
“Come with me. Let me see you fall apart while I find my release.”
The urgency and hunger in his words and his continued thrusts caused the ache in Cora’s lower half to explode and pulsate through her body. Damion whimpered and released his seed deep within her. She clung to him, wanting them to be as deeply intertwined as they could be.
He kissed her softly and withdrew from her. She let out a strangled protest, and he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I will clean us up.”
After he did, Damion rolled her against his body. Cora wasn’t sure any moment could be more perfect than this.
***
Hours later, Damion lay against Cora’s headboard with her wrapped in his arms. They’d explored each other’s bodies a few more times and now were talking about the future.
“I think a marriage sooner than later would be best,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head.
She pressed her lips to one of his hands. “I agree.”
“I want us to take an extended trip after our marriage, and we need to discuss children as well.”
“Is it selfish that I want all those things with you and as soon as possible?” she asked.
The idea of this woman carrying his child was heady. Damion had long thought children were not in his future, but now, with her in his arms, he was more open to it. He slid his hand along her flat belly, imagining it round with his children.
Still, they had time for that. Just as important, he wanted to make sure they traveled to the places Cora dreamed about seeing. “I want children too, but first I want us to visit America. Maybe see some of the locations on your maps.”
She sat up and faced him, excited. “Truly? I never thought I would go.”
He smiled. “The moment you talked about your maps, I wanted to take you abroad.”
Cora wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes going a bit watery. “I’m so glad that I requested you teach me how to be tempting.”
He brushed a kiss across her lips. “You needed no lessons.”
She snorted. “You are saying that because you fancy me.”
Damion flipped her on her back, staring down at her lovely face. “I more than fancy you. I crave you.”
Cora laughed at his dramatics. Still, Damion wasn’t lying. He would desire and love this woman for the rest of his life. Maybe they would travel, maybe they would have children; they were all options. What mattered most was that he had her. “I love you.”